10 TV Sitcom Characters With Shockingly Dark Backstories

It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia is a brash, vile and downright dirty look at what situational comedy can be, and each character reflects that in their tragic backstories.

Like Community, any member of The Gang could make it here. Mac's got a criminal father, Dee set her roommate on fire, Frank was institutionalised, and Dennis has been a little monster since he was born. Still, it's the incomparable Charlie Kelly who tops them all.

Charlie is easily the most endearing member of The Gang (although that's not saying much). A major part of this stems from how damaged he is, which is no surprise, considering his horrendous upbringing. His mother was - in essence - a sex worker, and while she was very loving, she often left him unsupervised, leading to him finding glue/cleaning products and developing substance abuse issues. It's also heavily implied in his music that he was sexually assaulted by his uncle Jack.

As if all that wasn't enough, his problems go back to before he was even born, as he somehow survived being aborted. Yep, that's the kind of darkness you expect when watching this show.